Assignments

Research Paper Summaries

Each week students are expected to read and summarize two research papers from the reading list. These summaries are due every Monday at 11:59pm ET (except during week 1 when there is no summary due). The purpose of this assignment is to ensure students read the relevant papers and are prepared to engage in a fruitful class discussion.

Guidelines

    • Limit: For 2 paper summaries combined, 1 - 2 pages, single-spaced, 12 pt. font

    • Title of the paper and your name

    • Address all the below questions in individual/separate subsections:

      1. Objective: What is the objective/contribution?

      2. Method & Result: Summarize the approach/methodology presented and key findings (if relevant)

      3. My Takeaways: What are your key learnings or takeaways from the paper?

      4. My Questions/Critics: What is one primary question or critic that you have on the topic/paper? This will be used as a point for class discussion.

Note: There are a total of 6 research paper summaries (R2 to R7) due between weeks 2 and 7. One will be dropped so students have the option to omit one paper summary (e.g., during the week of their research paper presentation).

Guidelines for Research Paper Presentation

Many class periods will include presentation and discussion of two seminal research papers on various Data Science for Health topics from the weekly reading list. The presentation should be ~25-mins long followed by a 15mins discussion (see below for a breakdown). Note that this structure may not be feasible for all research papers (e.g., review papers).

  1. The first 15-mins should focus on highlighting key points from the research paper (i.e., objective, novelty, method/approach, results, limitations/weaknesses).

  2. The next 5 - 10 mins should focus on any single data science method discussed in the paper. The goal is to teach the audience about this method (how it works, when to use it, pros/cons). Feel free to reference additional resources as needed for this.

  3. The last 15-mins is for open discussion which is led by the presenters. Presenters should provide specific questions to guide a class discussion on the research paper and topic.

Important

  • Every student will present between 1 - 2 research papers throughout the term

  • Presentation slides should be submitted on Canvas below or after. This is due on the day of the presentation.